Mearls, please give the mind flayer a makeover!

[Felon]

While the fluff behind the mind flayer engages my imagination as much it has many a gamer, I've found it's a lousy monster for players to fight. A one-trick pony, it just lashes out with its all-or-nothing, save-or-be-stunned-for-an-average-of-7.5-rounds mind blast.

Its only other attack ability is charm monster, another Will save ability, but one that players will have a +5 to save against once engaged in combat. That's basically to allow a mind flayer to recruit thralls (although they're not thralls per se, but rather "trusted friends and allies" of the illithid). Note that they become an impediment as the mind blast's huge cone will likely encompass any bodyguards. Not that the illithid cares for their welfare, but it's a lame encounter where you've got a bunch of grimlocks, umber hulks, etc. spoiling to unleash some pain only to crumple before the PC's due to the assault of their supergenius boss.

And what do they have for defenses? Levitate? Nothing spells "bad idea" like an ability that turns you into a cat up a tree, unable to negotiate any horizontal movement. Get ready to punch the plane shift button and get outta Dodge...

EDIT--I figured it'd be obvious, but let me go ahead and state that I'm speaking of the flayer presented in the Monster Manual, not the variant flayer presented in the Psionics Handbook. Like many players, I don't use the psionics subsystem.

 

[Psion]

If you use the XPH version, you can customize the Mind Flayer's abilities.

 

[BryonD]

If you use the XPH version, you can customize the Mind Flayer's abilities.

Exactly.

I was wondering what the issue was until your post reminded me that I was thinking XPH by default.

 

[Gold Roger]

Add me to the XPH by default bunch. Add at least one level of thrallherd to each mind flayer and you are golden.

 

[demiurge1138]

I like the XPH mindflayers a lot... except then it needs a CR boost. Rather badly. An XPH mind flayer is closer to a 9, maybe even a 10, IMO.

Demiurge out.

 

[Dark Psion]

They really need a make over, purple is so out.

 

[BryonD]

Add me to the XPH by default bunch. Add at least one level of thrallherd to each mind flayer and you are golden.

True, but you don't need to bump them up to get the variety. Just changing the power selection can get a nice variety.

Though bumping them up is certainly nice.

 

[BryonD]

I like the XPH mindflayers a lot... except then it needs a CR boost. Rather badly. An XPH mind flayer is closer to a 9, maybe even a 10, IMO.

Demiurge out.

Not sure I agree.
They are certainly more potent than the MM version. But the MM version seems a little weak for its CR if anything.

I wouldn't argue a CR of 9, but 8 seems close enough.

The MM one seems more like a 7 (ish).

 

[Gold Roger]

True, but you don't need to bump them up to get the variety. Just changing the power selection can get a nice variety.

Though bumping them up is certainly nice.

True. The Thrallherd level is mostly there for flavor-I just like the idea that every mindflayer controls a small army of unthinking slaves.

 

[MerricB]

One of the important things about CR is that it can't be viewed in isolation. There's a reason why the CR calculation should normally be worked out with two monsters of the same type vs. a party of 2 levels above the CR.

Mind Flayer + 4 Ogres (EL 9) is probably pretty close to true. The effect of the mind blast synergizes very well at this point.

(This is as opposed to the Rakshasa as presented in the MM; haste is nice, but doesn't really have that much synergy to make the Rakshasa a CR 10!)

Cheers!